How far can you go without joining a league?

[poolplayer2093]

I agree with an emphasis on dedication...

but that person will succeed league or no league...

some folks could be like me where the league sparks an interest that blossoms beyond the league that spawned it...

like Jennifer Barreta

 

[softshot]

good to see ya there son... come on in and play some..

nah.... we are just here for fun..

have a few beers qualify for the tourney

we are just here for fun... first week is free come have fun...

those guys over there???

noooo they are addicts... that game is called 14.1 you will never get that bad .. don't worry about it...

the guys on table 4......

Well those fellows are lost to us,,, they are the one pocket players...

they are beyond help



LEAGUE POOL

THE GATEWAY DRUG!!!!!!

KEEP YOUR KIDS AWAY FROM LEAGUE POOL!!!!

LEST THEY BE DAMNED!!!!!!!


lighten up its just 3 hours on Wednesday.. I can quit anytime...


......................................................

or can I??????????

 

[Surly]

First of all, I like to play pool on my own time. I'm early to bed and early to rise. My husband and I love to cook (and drink), so we rarely go anywhere in the evenings. We play 3-4 times a week during the day, and we're both pretty serious about improving our game.

Secondly, two regulars that we usually play with have just joined the APA league and after 2 nights they are ready to quit. One complained about standing around all night waiting to play, and the other, who is ridiculously good and loves to crack jokes and have fun, talked about how he is already getting the cold shoulder from his team because nobody has a sense of humor and apparently they're not there to have fun...

But the place I play has Jack and Jill tourneys every once in awhile, during the day, but when I researched it, I kept seeing Mrs. Smith is an APA3 and Mr. Smith is an APA6... so I began to wonder if my husband and I would even be allowed to compete....

I suppose I just don't understand how the system works. My game is improving and every once in awhile I imagine showing off and winning a tourney and making it to a state final/Vegas/whatever... I guess I need to do my research and find out what my options are locally.

 

[SK Custom Cues]

I've decided that I really don't want to join a league... I want to play on my own time, when it's convenient for me.

Are there any tournaments I can enter? I'm by no means ready to do that, but what if one day I want to see how far I can go... is there a path for the 'independant' player?

I played some Leagues and I think it was somewhat fun, but it wasn't for me.

Match up. Do it cheap at first and then move on to bigger and better. You will have no choice but to get better. The money brings out the either the best or the worst in you depending on you mental state of mind. The money is kinda like LSD. It will expand your mental state into a higher potential. MATCH UP.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

I've decided that I really don't want to join a league... I want to play on my own time, when it's convenient for me.

Are there any tournaments I can enter? I'm by no means ready to do that, but what if one day I want to see how far I can go... is there a path for the 'independant' player?

I honestly don't know of the PATCH, or Pin you seek, but I would buy one, as I too have never played LEAGUE.

Two kind of league players, serious, and recreational . Most are recreational IMHO.

 

[ironman]

There are other routes, leagues are a fairly new development. Practice, playing with others and playing every cheap tournament you can are all good. If you go in bar rooms there are lots of bar room weekly tournaments for less than top level players and most pool halls have a weekly tournament or two that are restricted to avoid the top players taking it every week.

Don't be shy about competing now. It is a good way to sharpen your skills and mental game and meet fellow pool players too.

Hu

Wekk saud, Don't be shy about the competition. To excell at this game, most are extemely competitive and strive for all the competiotion they can get.

Learning how to practice is just one small step in this game. Learning how to play when the heat is on is or often something totally different for many. Practice, practice, and paractice even more when not in action or playing someone. You have to want it and want it very badly to get to the level you want. Stay focused and constantly push yourself and as he said, don't shy from competition. It will only sharpen you more and more. Learning to practice is one thing, but it takes some many years to learn to play like they practice or vice versa.

If you are a great practice player, but tighten up in competition, this can cause many hurdles and often serious head trips which can be hard to overcome. If you practice with that long loose stroke, you had better learn to play that way. Why a play a different style than what you practice.

Are leagues a good avenue? I don't know! I'm not a fan of them, but, many are. It's too long between games and a person doesn't learn much by sitting and watching hour after hour and especially those who don't play very well anyway.

I guess that what I suggest is simple: If you want to take this game to the next few levels, you have to want it and want it badly. You have to live it day in and day out and dall the books DVD'S or instructions aren"t goiing to be of much value until you make up your mind you want it badly and will pay the price.

Play like you practice,,,or,,,,, Practice like you play. Get an attitude about it and start knocking em down!!!

 

[mongoose-]

I've decided that I really don't want to join a league... I want to play on my own time, when it's convenient for me.

Are there any tournaments I can enter? I'm by no means ready to do that, but what if one day I want to see how far I can go... is there a path for the 'independant' player?

Surly don't cut yourself short by not competing in tournaments. You should play all of the small bar tournaments you can and also splurge once in a while to enter a high skill level tournament. The more you suround yourself with better players you will become better over time. Matching up with players of equal ability for gambling sessions is also good as well as matching up with stronger players on occasion. I'm not saying bet big and lose a ton of money I'm saying always bet what you are comfortable with. Take some lessons, ask questions of the better players, buy training material... AZ here is also a great place to gain knowledge. You are going to lose before you can win in any sport. Keep an open mind. Best of luck to you in your progress to become a better player.

 

[Snapshot9]

First of all, I like to play pool on my own time. I'm early to bed and early to rise. My husband and I love to cook (and drink), so we rarely go anywhere in the evenings. We play 3-4 times a week during the day, and we're both pretty serious about improving our game.

Secondly, two regulars that we usually play with have just joined the APA league and after 2 nights they are ready to quit. One complained about standing around all night waiting to play, and the other, who is ridiculously good and loves to crack jokes and have fun, talked about how he is already getting the cold shoulder from his team because nobody has a sense of humor and apparently they're not there to have fun...

But the place I play has Jack and Jill tourneys every once in awhile, during the day, but when I researched it, I kept seeing Mrs. Smith is an APA3 and Mr. Smith is an APA6... so I began to wonder if my husband and I would even be allowed to compete....

I suppose I just don't understand how the system works. My game is improving and every once in awhile I imagine showing off and winning a tourney and making it to a state final/Vegas/whatever... I guess I need to do my research and find out what my options are locally.

Find out if a Billiard newsletter is published in your area? If so, you can get the latest billiard news from it. They usually list local tournaments going on in your city too. I know, I published one for my area for 3-4 years.

Pool rooms also publish flyers about their upcoming tournaments. Go to the pool room and get a flyer on tournaments you might be interested in.
Some pool rooms also have websites, check those out.

Ask one of the better players or room owners in town about tournaments, etc..

 

[Surly]

Wekk saud, Don't be shy about the competition. To excell at this game, most are extemely competitive and strive for all the competiotion they can get.

Learning how to practice is just one small step in this game. Learning how to play when the heat is on is or often something totally different for many. Practice, practice, and paractice even more when not in action or playing someone. You have to want it and want it very badly to get to the level you want. Stay focused and constantly push yourself and as he said, don't shy from competition. It will only sharpen you more and more. Learning to practice is one thing, but it takes some many years to learn to play like they practice or vice versa.

If you are a great practice player, but tighten up in competition, this can cause many hurdles and often serious head trips which can be hard to overcome. If you practice with that long loose stroke, you had better learn to play that way. Why a play a different style than what you practice.

Are leagues a good avenue? I don't know! I'm not a fan of them, but, many are. It's too long between games and a person doesn't learn much by sitting and watching hour after hour and especially those who don't play very well anyway.

I guess that what I suggest is simple: If you want to take this game to the next few levels, you have to want it and want it badly. You have to live it day in and day out and dall the books DVD'S or instructions aren"t goiing to be of much value until you make up your mind you want it badly and will pay the price.

Play like you practice,,,or,,,,, Practice like you play. Get an attitude about it and start knocking em down!!!

I don't shy away from competition at all. I'll play anybody, I don't care. I just want to play. And there are some very good players roaming around my pool hall that we are slowly meeting and matching up with. And it seems so far that I play better when up against it. Getting stomped usually motivates me to stop messing around and I seem to snap back to average pretty quickly.

But League Life just doesn't appeal to me, based on everything I've heard - good and bad.

 

[Matt90]

thank you sir !!!!

Yeah, I also agree that not only can you become great without the help of leagues, but am also of the opinion that for those that take the game very seriously........................leagues might not be all that great of an idea.
Not to bash leagues, because if there were one in my area, I would most likely be interested as long as it was NOT handicapped.
I am of the opinion that pool is an extremely intense individual sport, where the serious player would likely find a hard time finding players that match (hi or low) their level of seriousness. I think that pool players are the loner type who become good because they've mastered the skills required to take care of "me" and nobody else. A team situation could (but not always) be nothing but a source of frustration.
dave

Have cut down to one leauge team ,9 ball and it gets me aggravated at times .Came to NC to be with family for a spell and matched up last night for
some cheap sets .I played extremely better than I ever have on any leauge team .I don't know what it is or why but I play awful almost everytime when
on a leauge team.I am sure some can but it is growing more and more obvious that I am not geared for that type of pool.

 

[CrownCityCorey]

I've decided that I really don't want to join a league... I want to play on my own time, when it's convenient for me.

Are there any tournaments I can enter? I'm by no means ready to do that, but what if one day I want to see how far I can go... is there a path for the 'independant' player?

I have never been a member nor participated in a pool league.

 

[whitewolf]

Truthfully, I don't think leagues do anything to build your game and in a lot of ways I feel like it can hold your game back. I prefer tournaments myself or just practicing. There is nothing better you can do than practice by yourself and do drills.

I need to take some of my own advice.

If you are a new or a mid-level player, then leagues are the BEST way to progress. You get all the advice you want along the way. And the socializing makes pool fun. Where in the world would you get this advice in tournaments. Do you seriously think your opponent is going to tell you what you did wrong?!

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

Are there any tournaments I can enter?

Where do you LIVE?? Other there may point you to Tournaments, and if you live in the GREATER Maricopa County AZ area there are about 80-90 weekly Tournaments in the Valley. Got to most Bars, get the Local Pool Paper and find the Tournaments listings.

 

[Mowem down]

There not all the same....

Some places league sucks (like where I play), others its not so bad. I would say if you want to be really good I would find a league that is "in house" in a pool room. Then you will most likly be around people that have true respect for the game and you will most likly be playing on good equipment.

If your goal is to play "for real" then I would stay away from a league that goes from bar to bar. Alot of the players have really no idea what pool is about. If you get in the wrong APA league you will be subject to all the "your a sandbagger" type garbadge that can go along with it. And lets not forget the equipment you can have the displeasure of trying to play on. When you can see the mersa growing on the balls its hard to pay attention to the game.

 

[acedotcom]

I've decided that I really don't want to join a league... I want to play on my own time, when it's convenient for me.

Are there any tournaments I can enter? I'm by no means ready to do that, but what if one day I want to see how far I can go... is there a path for the 'independent' player?

Obviously you don't have to play in leagues, but I believe league play is good practice. For me, personally, I feel much more pressure when I'm not just playing for myself, but for my fellow teammates. I see lots of players out there in local tournaments who can't play under pressure. I think a lot of their problems can be traced to the fact that they avoid pressure situations in their practice sessions and leisure play and therefore aren't used to playing under pressure. League play might toughen them up.

 

[mdavis228]

Do what you like. Improvement is a matter of investment one way or the other. The one common theme I propose to anyone, whether in league play or otherwise, is that you have to be honest about whether you played well or not. Win or lose, if you don't know whether you played well, or if you left what you had on that day out there, then you'll likely trip over that road block time and again.

 

[Pushout]

Eh being in a league is what you make of it. If you are in a league and you treat it as a social thing then you would most likely treat it the same way if you weren't in a league. If anything being in a league may push you to be a better player by making you want to beat particular players.

My post is based on my experience watching league players over the last 8 years or so. I am well aware that not all league players fit into that category, but I've seen the majority disrespect the game, sand bag, win-at-any-cost when they can't run out with two balls left, and pull stuff that would make the lowest two-bit scum bag hustlers I've met over the last 45+ years or so blanch. I won't get into the details, it pisses me off just thinking about it. Two very good friends, a man and wife, have recently quit league play after many years, mainly because of the list I just typed. You said it yourself, about the social thing. The leagues I played in were in house, with enough serious players to make it good. We had 32 players in that league, playing so many weeks of 8 ball, 9 ball, and Straight Pool. I doubt it could happen like that today, from what I've witnessed personally and the stories I've heard from others.

 

[StormHotRod300]

I guess it all depends on the size and over-all strength of a league.

If you have a good league with alot of strong players and no handicap, you can get better.

now a good way if your playing league to get better is to play the top players, all the time. Even if your consistenly getting your butt handed to you, keep on playing them.

Also, if your lucky enough to get on a good team with a couple good players and one stud who just kills everyone, play them all the time. when your not doing league or playing a match.

When I was still playing all the time, I was lucky enough to have two friends one was a B+ player and one was a AA player and that is who i practiced with all the time. Yes i had times when i did nothing but rack, but i also had my times when i'd win a few racks and make them my bytch lol.

But for the most part i was lucky cuz the AA player just loved to play, money or not, so i played against him all the time.

 

[SUPERSTAR]

Leagues Stink!!!

 

["T"]

I've decided that I really don't want to join a league... I want to play on my own time, when it's convenient for me.

Are there any tournaments I can enter? I'm by no means ready to do that, but what if one day I want to see how far I can go... is there a path for the 'independant' player?

No, there are no tournaments you can enter.